LENDONWOOD LAUNCHES VINTAGE WOODLAND TRAILS FOR DECEMBER, JANUARY FUN

by Pauline Hale | Dec 2, 2024

Lendonwood volunteer Jamie Clowers puts the finishing touches on a display as part of the garden’s Vintage Woodland Trails event. Fifteen vignettes are scattered through the garden to illustrate wintry front porches of yesteryear. The vignettes will be on display now through the end of January. Lendonwood is open every day from dawn to dusk.

Vignettes of wintry front porches from yesteryear are on display at Lendonwood Gardens now through the end of January, bringing color and interest to the garden while plants may sleep. Fifteen displays featuring old doors, windows, wreaths and other memorabilia are sprinkled along winding pathways during the “Vintage Woodland Trails” event at the garden.

The project was conceived by Lendonwood volunteer Chris Lietzke as a fun way to draw people to the garden in the slower months of winter.

“Lendonwood is beautiful any time of year, but sometimes people need a reason to come visit in winter,” Lietzke said. “We hope visitors will explore the garden as they pick up décor ideas for their own front porches.”

All the vintage items were donated by local residents when Lendonwood put out a call in early November, asking for contributions such as weathered doors, rusty cans, or old wheelbarrows. Lietzke said, “The response was wonderful. People dropped off things they no longer wanted or needed, but which added charm to the vignettes.”

Lendonwood board member Ela Johnson helped design the displays, recruiting volunteers to put their own design ideas to work. On Saturday, November 30, nearly 20 volunteers showed up in the chilly early morning to start creating 15 unique vignettes that would draw visitors from one display to another.

Johnson said, “You’ll find a wide range of ideas recalling old front porches in winter: everything from early-day iron bedposts to a carved wooden swan to a rusty ironing board and more.” Decorations like wreaths and ornaments were kept simple, in line with the design theme.

Johnson invited people to come enjoy a walk through the garden to see the handiwork of the creative volunteers. “Lendonwood is open every day from dawn to dusk, even in winter. While our Welcome Center will take a break from December 7 to mid-March, the garden itself remains open to the public.”

When the Welcome Center is closed, visitors may enter the garden through the green entrance gate on Har-Ber Road, paying admission fees on the honor system in a red cash-box near the front. Admission to the garden is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for students, and free for children under 12 and for members.

Lendonwood is an eight-acre botanical garden located at 1308 Har-Ber Road. The garden is known for its botanical collections of azaleas, rhododendrons, peonies, dogwoods, hostas, daylilies, Japanese maples, and more.